Songs Of Proof: The Class Of 2007

The Class Of 2007 has arrived, and what a mess it was.  From the controversy surrounding the vote, to questions of who should be inducted, to barriers being removed, this class was a lot to take in, perhaps more than suits a class this small.  This is also the smallest class that the Hall has ever had, which was part of the problem people had with it.  Only Performer inductees this year, and no other category.  It certainly raised questions when there were and are still so many important session musicians awaiting induction, not to mention Early Influences and Non-Performers too.  This sadly also ends up being the last year of inductions for the Vocal Group Hall Of Fame.  They drafted up a list of nominees for their prospective Class Of 2008, but it sadly never comes to pass.  For the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, though it's not all sad.  The final number, the all-star jam, is still the best one I've seen, and the only one that seems to include every inductee from that class in some capacity.  Patti Smith, Michael Stipe of R.E.M., Sammy Hagar of Van Halen, and Ronnie Bennett of the Ronettes all help sing part of the words to "People Have The Power" (as does Eddie Vedder), while it appears that the members of Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five are onstage helping belt out the chorus.  Still the standard of all-star jams, in my opinion.

On the personal front, though, this is a very happy year.  This is the first year that I found out ahead of time who the nominees were!  I was still a couple years from plugging into the Future Rock Legends community, but as a member of other forums, I posted the list of nominees as well as my thoughts.  And thus began my seeding.  At the very bottom of this post, I'll copy and paste my very first prediction post from a forum that's still around.  I'll continue this as I'm able, until we get to the classes where I posted my predictions on this blog.  But for the record, this very first year of predicting, I went 5/5.  Nailed 'em all first time out, a feat I have never duplicated, but hope to someday.   2007 is also the first year that I finally completed burning the first edition of this CD set.  I have changed a few songs over the years, but it's stayed mostly the same for over 10 years now.  I was so happy when I finally got it all put together.  It was a thing of beauty, if I do say so myself, even without any fancy cover art covering the tops of those CD-R's.  So now, let's look at the final five songs to be included on that first edition of this labor of love.


Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five:  We bust out of the gate with the biggest controversy of all this year.  Not just because they were the first hip-hop act inducted, which caused a ton of tittering and bristling from the rock purists, but of course also for the issue of ballots that arrived after the deadline.  Those late arriving ballots put the Dave Clark Five ahead by six votes, supposedly, but because they were received after the deadline, and also supposedly the Hall didn't want to have to wait another year to induct a hip-hop act, they went ahead and threw those votes out.  And also because they couldn't fathom a class with six Performer inductees, they kept it to only five, keeping the Dave Clark Five out, despite pleas to induct both those acts since the vote ran so close.  The Hall has since amended its position to allow a sixth Performer inductee if indeed the vote runs close like that.  You also got Jay-Z giving the most dispassionate induction speech possibly ever, reading it off his Blackberry.  It wouldn't be until the Black Keys inducted Steve Miller that you'd get one that was worse.  Then there's also the controversy that tore the group apart, though it didn't surface so much, since they were all just pretty happy to be getting inducted at all: the question of why Flash was included.  According to sources, his cutting and threading "instrumentation" never happened in the studio, but was all the work of producers and engineers.  That little problem has been sidestepped, however, by the simple fact that "The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel" was a hit on the R&B charts and was taken from a live set the group did, which is all Flash's handiwork.  I was very tempted to choose that song, since it's Flash's work, and includes rapped excerpts from each of the Furious Five from their previous record "The Birthday Party."  While I originally chose "The Message," I have since reverted to using the said song of adventures.  It represents an important part of hip-hop culture and has some emcee rapping too.

R.E.M.:  About the only inductee this year without any controversy surrounding them.  Inducted their first year of eligibility, no snubbed members.  Nothing to complain about here.  Their induction was a great segment too, including the video package which included a clip of their appearance on Sesame Street, singing "Furry, Happy Monsters."  I laughed out loud for a solid ten seconds when they showed that clip.  First song by them I ever heard was "Stand," and I thought about using that one.  I also considered using "Imitation Of Life" which was the featured song on the college radio station when I was in college.  Nevertheless, this is just one of those instances where I went with the cliche.  "Losing My Religion" really encapsulates so much about R.E.M.  It showcases their signature guitar sound, often described as "jangly" and features lyrics that seem like idle babble and really don't make a whole lot of sense without further context.  With some hidden harmony from Peter Buck, this is cliche for them because it really does capture all their signature elements, making it the best choice.

The Ronettes:  When it comes to the Ronettes, the controversy surrounding them has to do with Phil Spector.  As a former member of the Nominating Committee, Phil Spector was largely the main reason the Ronettes hadn't been getting nominated.  With their records all featuring the famous "Wall Of Sound" that could be heard on records by the Crystals, Darlene Love, and Bob B. Soxx And The Blue Jeans, he used to argue that he was the real artist, and those groups didn't deserve it.  Well, that blockade busted when Phil's legal troubles kept him away from the meeting of the Nominating Committee that year, and the Ronettes got on the ballot.  And then they got inducted.  Phil Spector sent a letter congratulating them, which Paul Shaffer read at the ceremony, but it seemed to ring a little hollow.  As far as the song, they have two songs that they're really known for, but they had three other Top 40 hits that are amazing.  In addition to "Be My Baby" and "Baby, I Love You," you have "Walking In The Rain," which is a fantastic ballad; "Do I Love You," which is a driving record and really shows the girls' powering through with their voices; and the song I chose to use, which has a solid martial beat, also mightily showcases their voices and their vocal harmonies, and is just a song that needs to be heard by more people.  So, my selection for the Ronettes is "(The Best Part Of) Breaking Up."  (Vocal Group Hall Of Fame Song Of Proof: "Be My Baby")

Patti Smith:  Sometimes called the "punk rock priestess," there is absolutely no refuting her legacy as a lyricist or the unbridled passion with which she delivered them.  Though deprecating of her own talent to a degree, there's not much that can be said against that either.  Though a solo artist in her own regard, her best-known works are those of the "Patti Smith Group" and it really is a shame and somewhat surprising that the group wasn't inducted with her, especially Lenny Kaye.  Just more mystery to this weird little institution we love so much.  My choice for using "Because The Night" to represent her is once again rooted in the hope I had of making this whole playlist into a radio program, which given the FCC regulations, ruled out a LOT of her songs, especially the one that is sometimes performed in conjunction with "Babeologue"... you know... the song that Smith's mother liked to vacuum to.  Even now, much as I've mused about switching to "People Have The Power," I find that I've just listened to "Because The Night" so much, that I really just love to sing along with it and don't want to swap it out.  So it stays.

Van Halen:  They didn't have to wait too long to get inducted, and they soared in on their first nomination.  I really don't think the wait had anything to do with difficulty deciding whether or not to include Sammy Hagar, so much as they just couldn't break through to the ballot until the Nominating Committee cleared a little of the logjam that was somewhat resolved in 2006.  I was born when Diamond Dave was still leader, but I never heard any of their songs until Sammy was singing for them.  Some of the more hardcore fans howled with rage when their induction included Hagar, but that was my introduction.  I really appreciate the richer instrumentation that songs like "Right Now" and "Dreams" had.  It really doesn't surprise me that greater commercial success came during the "Van Hagar" years.  The song selected though, is from the earlier era.  What really convinced me to choose this particular song was the video package that ran at the induction ceremony.  The matter came to what made Van Halen stand out as a band, and what seemed to separate them from the other arena rock bands at the time.  An interview clip showed David Lee Roth saying, "We were the only rock band that you could dance to!"  I don't know if that's entirely true, but I do think that mentality helped shape their sound and what made them such an influence upon later hair metal bands.  Therefore, "Dance The Night Away" was chosen as the song to represent them.  And looking back, this was a stellar selection, in my opinion.  As I said about the Velvet Underground's "Rock And Roll," "Dance The Night Away" has also proven to be a great closing song for a CD, for some reason.  The songs for 2005, 2006, and 2007 all fit on one CD, and "Dance The Night Away" just feels like a natural closer to finish it off with.

End of the disc and end of the class.  It's the smallest class, but despite all the drama that swirled around it, it's one of the best induction ceremonies that I've ever seen.  How about you?  What are your thoughts on the ceremony, this class, or the songs used to salute them?  Make mention in the Comments below.  A short recap:

Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five: "The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel"
R.E.M.: "Losing My Religion"
the Ronettes: "(The Best Part Of) Breaking Up"
Patti Smith: "Because The Night"
Van Halen: "Dance The Night Away"

The Vocal Group Hall Of Fame held their last inductions in 2007, and I have songs for them as well, with one extra.  The Vocal Group Hall Of Fame did a joint induction for the Gladiolas and Maurice Williams And The Zodiacs.  They essentially said that the Gladiolas eventually just changed the name to Maurice Williams And The Zodiacs, without switching members.  That is true... at first.  But by the time that the #1 hit "Stay" was recorded, the only member of the Gladiolas still left in the group was Maurice Williams himself.  And so, I feel the Vocal Hall was really inducting two groups with this induction, so two songs are awarded here.  The playlist for the Vocal Group Hall Of Fame's Class Of 2007 is as such:

the Capris: "There's A Moon Out Tonight"
the Chords: "Sh-Boom"
the Dixie Cups: "People Say"
the Five Red Caps: "I Learned A Lesson I'll Never Forget"
the Four Preps: "Big Man"
the Gladiolas: "Little Darlin'"
the Hoboken Four: "Shine"
the Jive Five: "My True Story"
Kool And The Gang: "Joanna"
Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes: "Bad Luck (Part 1)"
the Monkees: "Valleri"
Tony Orlando And Dawn: "Knock Three Times"
Ruby And The Romantics: "Our Day Will Come"
Sam And Dave: "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby"
Sly And The Family Stone: "Hot Fun In The Summertime"
the Traveling Wilburys: "End Of The Line"
Maurice Williams And The Zodiacs: "Stay"

And as promised, the cut and pasted message board post with which I first seeded the nominees for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.  It was written somewhat responsively to an article by David Hinckley, titled "Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Begins Thinking Young," so when you see me alluding to an article, that's why.  I had also predicted that R.E.M.'s nomination and induction would be inevitable one day, so that's why there's that.  P.S., I was also really disparaging of Chic back in the day.  But here it is, my first prediction post, unedited and without proofreading, immature biases and factual errors intact, as it was back in 2006:

"I procrastinated posting this here, cuz I don't think most of you recognize the acts nominated. At least not most of them. But I'm bored, so what the hell.

So, we've got the nine nominees, five of whom will be inducted. 

As for the actual focus of the article: the need to market younger. 

I say, why? Ok, yeah the money issue. But yeesh, look at the new wave (no pun intended) of artists becoming eligible. And with so much of it scattered about, it's hard to tell who will actually make it. 

Even more interesting was a fairly recent Rolling Stone article about high school kids getting more and more interested in the classic acts like Black Sabbath, Jethro Tull and the Beatles. So who knows? It could be possible to not succumb to the need to go younger and stay true to itself. Only time will tell, I guess.

But getting to this year's nine nominees....

R.E.M. I called it. One of the godfathers of alternative, all they've given us. I rank them as the most deserving act. Odds of induction: 98%

Van Halen They'll be the first hair metal band in the Hall Of Fame, ahead of the deserving, but not in KISS. They've been eligible for a couple years now, glad to see they're on this year, and stand a strong chance of making it. I hope they give trophies to both Roth and Hagar. It took both of them, really. Second most deserving act. Odds of induction: 95%

Patti Smith A strike-while-the-iron-is-hot mentality here. Influencing U2 and other big acts, as well as another founding act in punk. I rank them 4th in terms of deserving. Odds of induction: 75%

Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five We'll see. No doubt the influence they've had on rock and roll and music as a whole, but the fact that they themselves weren't rock may hinder it. There was some pretty ugly murmuring about Miles Davis being inducted as a Performer this past year, instead of as an Early Influence. How will that affect this year? Is there a backlash, or is the argument of they weren't rock and roll or even soul losing more and more ground? I'm not sure. The fact that they've been near misses the past couple years may be telling, but then again, neither Black Sabbath nor the Dells got in until their 10th nomination. Gene Pitney, his eighth. This is only number three for the Furious Five, but the need to market younger may trump that. Either way, I don't think that statement should be made this year. I rank them as 7th in terms of deserving, but I'll say the odds of induction are at about 60%

The Ronnettes Ooh, where to begin here. Phil Spector has kept them off the ballot in the past few years, huh? There IS some truth to his argument about him being the real artist. If you're not a close study of the pop music in '62 and '63, then most of the girl group songs ARE gonna sound the same. You won't be able to tell the Crystals from the Ronnettes from Darlene Love. However, it's also no secret of his tragic marriage and bitter divorce with Ronnettes' lead singer Veronica Bennett. The other major thing that distinguises the Ronettes from the other girl groups is that Ronnie herself has been called rock and roll's first sex kitten. Why that should have any bearing, I really don't know, but we'll see. I kind of hope they do, just because I like them, but I also realize they may not deserve it as much as some of the other nominees here. However, there's a good chance that voters may see this as the only chance to get them in. Phil was first taken in to custody back in.... '03 was it? And this is the first year he's been too busy to keep them off the ballot? He may have his troubles sewn up in time to return to blackballing them for next year. So, yeah, this may be the lone chance. Hard to guess. I put them at #6 in terms of deserving it, and if they'd induct six instead of only five, I'd happily call it the cut-off point. Odds of induction: equally likely, 50%

Joe Tex Not a big fan of his work. There are plenty of soul acts more deserving than him: Johnnie Taylor, the Chi-Lites, the Delfonics, the Stylistics, the Spinners, etc. His biggest hits are annoying too. "I Gotcha" sounds like something Mystikal would cut. "Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)" is just a silly disco cut that should be forgotten. "Skinny Legs And All" is supposed to be funny. Supposed to be. Two of his good songs, though, are "Show Me" and "Hold What You've Got." One unique aspect of his records, though, was he was equal opportunity in his lyrical criticism and advice of relationships. What may act against him, though probably not, is that he later converted to Islam. How much the attitude against the Muslim faith will affect the process, I think very little, since it's a select group of industry insiders who do the voting. Lately, the Hall Of Fame tries to induct at least one soul act, and they surprised a lot of people with Percy Sledge in '05, that and the fact that they didn't induct a soul act last year may mean they want to rectify that. I place him 8th in deserving it. Odds of induction though: 45%

Dave Clark Five I love this group. They were pure energy. Yeah, they were clean cut and all, but before the Beatles could make "Helter Skelter" top the Who's "I Can See For Miles" as the loudest and wildest, the Who had to top the Dave Clark Five's "Anyway You Want It" at least for loudest. Granted, it's not a wild song, but it's a loud piece of pure energy. The fact they were clean cut is a hinderance though. But another aspect to look at is this past year. For '06, the Hall Of Fame inducted three acts that had serious public support for them and outcry against their not having been inducted before '06: Black Sabbath, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the Sex Pistols. If this is any indication, these clean cut British lads stand a good chance, and may open the door for other acts with big public support to get in, like the Guess Who, Rush, and Alice Cooper. They are the third-most deserving act of the group, in my opinion, and I'd love to see them on stage performing together for the first time in over 30 years. I think all five are still alive: Dave Clark, Mike Smith, Lenny Davidson, Dennis Peyton, and Rick Huxley. Odds though, are at a mere 33%

The Stooges Their claim to fame: being Iggy Pop's old group. They also helped influence punk and a lot of 70's rock, with "Loose" being their best known song. I think they'll induct Iggy Pop as a soloist eventually and leave the Stooges in the cold. Still, if they can induct Sabbath instead of just waiting for Ozzy's solo eligibility, maybe. I find them the 5th most deserving act, but odds are only at 25%

Chic Since we've been doing retro Sundays at the radio station, I've become more familiar with Chic. My thoughts: NO!! NOOOOO!! FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! This group SUCKS. Furthermore, the Hall Of Fame hasn't been kind to disco acts of the 70s. Only the BeeGees are in, and they got in before the time that they would have been eligible IF they had ONLY been a disco act. Donna Summer is not in, KC And The Sunshine Band is not in, Tavares is not in, Barry White is not in, Sister Sledge is not in, etc. So I don't think Chic will either, thank goodness. They are the least deserving of it, and I place the odds at a paltry 10%.

So what do you guys think?

*all percentages for odds of induction were pulled straight outta my ass."